Board of Directors

Scott Van Gorder was born in Honesdale and graduated from Honesdale High School. He went on to earn a BA in math and a BA in philosophy from Lehigh University, and taught high school at both Allentown and Wallenpaupack Area school districts. He is the owner of Van Gorders’ Furniture, with stores in Hawley, Honesdale, and Milford PA. He credits his parents with instilling in him a love of the natural world, and now passes that love on to his children and grandchildren.

Scott puts it best, in his own words: “Now and then in our lifetimes, we seem able to reach toward a higher understanding; a knowledge of what is truly valuable. To do this, your best bet is to stand in the river. The water that flows by represents all that has happened in our four-county watershed. The river is ground-zero for our quality of life and is the final page of every story that takes place in the entire watershed. If the river is in good shape, then so are we. My big questions are these: After fifty more years have flowed by, will my grandson, Greg, stand knee-deep in our perfect river teaching his own grandchild to hold a pollywog? Do we appreciate our opportunity and understand our responsibility to protect our river and our watershed for the future, for the generations whose lives it will sustain, and who deserve to know its wonder?”